Hook and eye



No. 6|0,7|0. Patented s'ep't. I3, |898. l E. A. JDHNSUN.

Hook A Nn EYE.

(Application med Feb. 1s;- 1895;)

(No Model.)

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ELLERY A. JOHNSON, OF ROME, GEORGIA.

HOOK AND EYE.

SPECIFICA TIGN forming part of -Letters Patent No. 610,710, dated September 13, 1898. Application filed February 18,1895.. Serial No. 538,861. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ELLERY A. JOHNSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Rome, in the county of Floyd and State of Georgia, have invented a new and useful Hook and Eye, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to that class of hookand-eye fastenings in which the eye member is of the usual and well-known form and the hook member provided with guards which act in conjunction with the bill to retain the eye member in engagement with the hook member after the parts or members have been snapped against accidental displacement due to strain or relative movements of the hook and the eye members incident to a playing of the one on the other, which frequently happens in the practical operation of such fasten,- ings.

The primary object of the invention is the provision of a hook of novel formation which can be used in connection with the ordinary eye, which will present a compact, neat, pleasant, and agreeable appearance, and which can be economically manufactured and placed upon the market at about the same cost as the ordinary hook-and-eye fastenings, from which it differs in construction only by shortening the bill and turningits end up abruptly, separating the members of the shank and extending the ends of the wires, after forming the attaching-eye, parallel with and in the space formed between the said separated members of the shank, and having the ends formed into eyes to provide the guards which act in conjunction with the bill to retain the eye in place after the parts of the fastening are engaged, the longitudinal edges of the shank members and guards touching and lying in the same plane, whereby they mutually strengthen, brace, and support one another.

'With these ends in view the improved fastening consists, essentially, of the novel features which hereinafter will be more fully described and claimed and which are shown in the annexed drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a view showing the application of the invention. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the hook member on a larger scale. Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the hook member, showing the eye member engaged therewith and in section. Fig. 4 is an end View, and Fig. 5 a

detail View, of the hook member.

` The fastening comprises an eye member 1, of ordinary and well-known construction, and a hook member 2. The hook member is formed from a single blank or length of Wire, as is usual in constructing this class of fastenings, which is folded upon itself midway of its ends, the folded portion being bent to provide the short bill 3, which is deflected abruptly at its end awayvfrom the plane of the shank and'forms therewith an angular ineline, as shown at 4. The shank is composed of parallel members 5,which extend in straight lines and are spaced a sufficient distance apart to receive the guards 6. The attachingeyes 7 at the rear end of the shank form means of securing the hook to the garment or other article to which the fastening is to be attached by means of stitching in the usual manner. The spring-gu ards 6 extend in parallel relation and occupy the space between the members 5, the outer portions 8 being deflected upwardly away from the plane of the shank to provide a space 9 for the reception of the eye member when the parts of the' fastening are engaged. The extremities of the guards 6 are bent outward and formed into eyes, rings, or curls 10, which approach close to the ontwardly-deflected end 4 of the bill, so as to retain the eye 1 in place against accidental disengagement. The space ll between the contiguous portions of the bill 8 and the eyes or active ends 10 of the guards is less than the thickness of the wire from which the eye lis formed, thereby preventing the said eye from accidental disengagement from the hook by any looseness or playing of the parts the one upon the other. The rings or curls 10 iiare in opposite directions, as most clearly shown in Fig. 4, to admit of the `ready disengagement of the eye from the hook by a proper movement when it is required to disengage the parts of the fastening, although this feature is not essential to the effectiveness of the fastening.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, it will be seen that the hook is compact in its organization and capable of being constructed of a minimum amount of wire, hence is both IOO light and presents a neat and graceful appearance. The longitudinal shank and guard wires 5 and G occur in parallel relation and practically touch at the adjacent edges. Hence there is no waste of material in the manufacture of the improved fastening, and the parts are mutually self-sustaining. The component parts of the fastening, such as the hook and the eye, are attached to the garment or other article to which it may be desired to apply the improved fastening in any convenient manner usual in securing similar fastenings to wearing-apparel, preferably by means of stitching, as shown most clearly in Fig. l.

In using the fastener the eye is snapped into the bill of the hook in the ordinary manmer. To free the eye or disengage it from the hook, it is necessary to give the said eye a quick twist and at the same instant press the hook and eye apart. By performing this operation in a deft manner the hook and eye can be disengaged as readily as the ordinary form of hook-and-eye fastening; but by reason of the narrow passage ll the eye cannot become accidentally disengaged from the hook by any looseness or playing of the eye upon the hook.

I-Iaving thus described the invention, what is claimed as new isl. In a hook and eye, a hook provided with a bill, a shank comprising parallel members, and guards formed bybending the rear ends of the shank members inwardly and extending them forwardly in the plane of the shank members, and having their free ends bent upward and outwardly turned to form curls or eyes at the point of nearest approach toand oppositely-disposed rings or curls at theends of the guards to act in conjunction with the bill, said rings or curls flaring outwardly from their inner edges and away from the plane of the shank, substantially as described for the purpose specified.

3. In a hook-and-eye fastener, the hereindescribed hook constructed of a single length of wire bent to form a shank having attaching-eyes at one end and a short outwardlydeflected bill at the opposite end, said shank comprising separated members or side bars, and parallel guards occupying the space between said members or side bars and formed by turning the side bars or members inwardly, in the plane of the latter, toward the bill, then extending outwardly away from the side bars, their free ends being bent laterally, forming rings which act in conj unction with the bill to retain the eye in engagement with the hook, substantially as set forth.

4. A garment-fastening hook to be used in connection with an eye of ordinary formation, constructed of a single length of Wire bent to form ashank having attaching-eyes at one end and a short bill at the opposite end whose extremity curves abruptly, said shank comprising separated parallel members, and guards occupying the space between the said parallel members and having a portion at their free ends bent outwardly and forming rings which act in conjunction with the bill to retain the eye in engagement with the hook, said rings projecting beyond the sides of the shank members and inclining in opposite directions from their inner edges, substantially as set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto afxed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

ELLERY A. JOHNSON.

Witnesses:

JOHN H. SIGGERS, E. G. SIGGERS. 

